Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.” And when it comes to opportunities to serve on Kiawah Island, the options are almost endless.
At the November 5 Kiawah Island Town Council Meeting, Mayor Bradley Belt and Council Members Madeleine Kaye and Russell Berner went through some of the opportunities during their regular town updates.
Belt mentioned that he, along with Kaye and Berner, recently attended an end-of-the-year dinner for the Kiawah Island Turtle Patrol, which tops out at 300+ volunteers. “More than 100 people were at that dinner, and it was great to see so many residents get together in honor of something they all love to do,” he said. He noted that although they have 300+ volunteers, they could always use more.
“There are also the Shorebird Stewards, and we recently had been dealing with the topic of dogs on leashes and why those volunteers are so important,” he added.
He mentioned the dolphin education program, called the Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network, as well. These folks educate passersby about how dolphins strand feed on Kiawah and Seabrook Islands. They also assist with taking pictures of the dolphins for counting purposes. In addition, Belt mentioned the bird counting and banding volunteer opportunities available by the direction of the Kiawah biologists.
Other volunteer opportunities exist through the Public Safety committee under the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the Arts Council.
Openings also exist on the Town’s Audit committee. “This is an opportunity to engage with our auditor, and we welcome people with relevant expertise in that area,” he said.
There are opportunities to serve on the Planning committee, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Construction Board, and the SATAX committee. “Those committees will have defined terms of one year,” he added.
Berner clarified that members of CERT help with emergency preparations before, during, and after a hurricane. “They will help prepare the beach, and they will be out directing traffic during evacuations,” he said. “All members are trained in CPR, some are nurses, some are trained in security, and we also have engineers. They will go in as a first response team.”
Berner said that CERT also helps with other events, like the Kiawah Island Marathon. “CERT will be along the route looking for participants in distress,” he said. “They will assist with lifesaving medical duties. They help people stay calm until an ambulance arrives on the scene.”
CERT currently has 30 members, but they are looking for more.
Kaye provided information on the Environmental committee and subcommittee opportunities. “As you can imagine, we get a lot of inquiries on our opportunities,” she said.
The main Environmental committee is chaired by Kaye and has 10 members – one is Town Biologist Jim Jordan. There is also a Beach Walkover subcommittee, which is chaired by Jordan. There are nine members, and one is Kaye.
Another subcommittee is the Pet Restraint/Shorebird Protection subcommittee, chaired by another Town Biologist Aaron Given. This subcommittee has only four members – one is Kaye and another is the Town Administrator Stephanie Tillerson.
The Kiawah River Bridge subcommittee is chaired by Jordan, and there are eight members; one is Kaye. This group deals with the ramp construction on the bridge. “Everyone knows this area with the 10 parking spots,” Kaye continued. “There is some damage to the marsh there with launching kayaks and paddleboards, but it is complicated because Johns Island folks have been using this area for fishing for generations. We have looked at some ways to protect the area, but there haven’t been any resolutions yet. We will continue to keep this issue alive.”
Lastly, the Marsh Management/Pervious Surface subcommittee is chaired by Petrea St. John, and there are 25 members. One member is Kiawah Island Planning Manager John Taylor, and another is Communication Director Erin Pomrenke, Kaye is on the subcommittee, as well as Jordan, plus one of the architects for Kiawah Partners, Mark Permar.
Kaye explained that the Marsh Management/Pervious Surface subcommittee is very robust and deals with the issues surrounding the Marsh Management Comprehensive Plan. The first topic they will deal with concerns the previous surfaces.
Committee positions will go up in January. Kiawah residents are encouraged to reach out to Town staff if they are interested in serving on a committee or volunteering for a group.
